A New Friend?
by iSakuraSnow
Summary: Kenma Kozume is a shy, cat-eyed boy who enjoys playing video games. He rarely talks, for fear of how other would portray him; and he isn't the type who could make friends easily. That is, before he met Karin Fuyu, the new transfer student; an outgoing person who eagerly befriends Kenma. However, can their friendship last with bullies and even friends in their way?
1. The Transfer Student

**Chapter One: The Transfer Student**

The homeroom teacher, Mrs. Kuriyama, clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "We have a new transfer student today!"

All but one pair of eyes turned to face the door as a thin girl with light brown hair walked into the classroom.

"Hello, everyone, my name is Karin Fuyu. It's nice to meet you!" The transfer student exclaimed.

Everyone began welcoming her and asking her numerous questions. "I heard that she came all the way from England, is that true?!"

Karin chuckled nervously as she walked through the swarm of people. She soon found a seat behind a boy who was scrolling through an app on his phone. Karin tapped the boy's shoulder and tried to start a conversation with him. "What app are you using?"

Without looking from his screen, the boy replied. "Game Buzz."

Before Karin could reply, a bunch of girls made their way to her desk.

"Fuyu-san, my name is Shiro, and I'm the class' representative!" One of the girls exclaimed. She turned her head towards Kenma and said, "I see that you've already met Kozume Kenma."

Karin nodded.

Shiro continued. "As the class' representative, I'll introduce Kozume to you. He's the class' gamer, but he can be a fine student." Then, Shiro turned to Kenma. "As a fellow classmate, I would like you to show Karin around the school."

Kenma nodded. "How hard can it be?" He thought, but little does he know, Karin and him had already made an enemy.


	2. The Cafeteria

**Chapter Two: The Cafeteria**

Karin and Kenma walked side by side into the cafeteria.

"Thank you for showing me the way here," Karin said.

Kenma nodded and walked away.

Karin waited on line for her food and sighed. "I should have bought my own lunch today."

After what seemed like hours, Karin finally met the cashier. She handed the cashier the ramen she wanted to buy, along with 600 yen. Thanking the cashier for the food, Karin walked away to find an empty seat to enjoy her lunch. Karin soon finds an empty seat, but before she could venture any further, she tripped over something... or preferably; someone.

"Yo, watch where ya going!" A girl exclaimed; a girl who happened to be the one who tripped her.

"I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time." Karin replied innocently. She didn't want to cause anymore trouble, after all.

However, the girl didn't want her prey to back down so easily, but before she could do anything, a small and timid voice spoke up behind her, "Please stop."

"Oh?" The girl spun around to find herself face to face with Kenma. "Are you telling me what to do?"

Kenma remained silent, but after a while, he spoke up again. "Maybe I am."

The girl glared at Kenma. "Tch, the name's Chiyo, by the way." With that, Chiyo held her head high and walked away.

Kenma shrugged and walked off in the other direction.

Karin followed him.

"Kenma!" Karin called. When he turned around, Karin bowed her head. "T-Thank you for helping me!"

"No problem," Kenma said. He lowered his head and quickly started to walk away.

"Wait!" Karin called out again. "Why did you help me, though? Aren't you scared about what people would think of you now?"

Kenma replied softly. "I do, actually."

Karin reached out for Kenma. "You shouldn't worry too much! I wouldn't have the wrong impression of you." She blushed. "You actually seem really cool."

Kenma smiled. "I wanted you to have a good impression of me."

Before either Kenma or Karin could say anything else, the cafeteria lady spoke up. "Ten minutes before lunch time ends!"

With that, Kenma jerked his head towards Karin.

"You can sit with me if you want. I mean..."

"If you insist~!" Karin smiled.

Looks like she got the seat she's been eyeing on after all!


	3. The Volleyball Trio

Karin sat in her seat and put her ear buds on. It had only been a day since she transferred into this school, yet she surprisingly felt at home. Karin looked at the empty seat in front of her and wondered where her classmate is.

As if speaking of the devil, Kenma appeared at the doorway of the classroom, along with a dark haired boy.

"Oh my goodness, Kuroo is back!" One girl shrieked as she ran to welcome Kuroo.

Before long, many other girls did as well. However, Kuroo ignored them all.

"Where's the new transfer kid?" Kuroo exclaimed.

Karin was pretty sure Kenma said something to Kuroo because soon Kuroo turned to her direction.

"There you are! Damn the rumors are right, you _are_ cute." Kuroo smirked as he turned to Kenma. "Do you like her?"

"She's nice," Kenma stated with a blank expression on his face.

Kuroo put his arms around Kenma's shoulder. "I'm pretty sure that was a yes or no question."

Kenma simply pushed Kuroo's arm off and went to sit down on his seat.

Kuroo went to his seat too, which turned out to be the seat next to Karin (and diagonally behind Kenma). Then, he leaned over towards Karin. "What are your interests?" Kuroo asked.

"I don't know… Games, I guess." Karin replied.

"Kenma, did you hear? Karin likes games!" Kuroo exclaimed mischievously.

"Yeah… I have ears," Kenma replied as he took out his phone.

"I see! Good to hear that you're using them."

The three of them remained silent for a few minutes before Karin let out a giggle.

"You two are so cute," She said.

(Author's Note: This girl is obviously a Kuroo x Kenma shipper ^.~)

Again, there was an awkward moment of silence.

"S-Sorry if I said something wrong. I just meant that you two seemed like good friends, that's all." Karin awkwardly explained.

Kuro held his head high. "Of course! We're great friends, right, Kenma?"

Kenma simply nodded.

Before anyone could speak up again, the class representative Shiro ran up to Karin with a paper in her hand.

"Karin-chan, I received the after-school activity sheet you requested yesterday!"

Karin took the paper in her hand and scanned through the paper. She was going to join the baking club until she spotted a particular club that enlightened her.

"There's a volleyball club!" Karin cried with joy.

Shiro laughed. "Yes, there is! In fact, your friends Kozume-san and Tetsuro-san are in the volleyball club."

"That's right!" Kuroo exclaimed.

"They're different…" Kenma said.

"The volleyball club is separated by gender. However, the volleyball teams do hold joint practices with each other occasionally," Shiro explained.

Karin waved it away. "That's okay, volleyball is life! To me, at least. Besides, they aren't even my friends... More like classmates."

"Oh," Kenma replied as he looked down at the floor.

"Umm… I mean we just met," said Karin.

"I guess." Kenma turned back to his phone.

Shiro took out a binder and turned to a page. "Actually, I have a note saying that the girls' and boys' team might have a joint practice today to view each other's skill and make suggestions so both teams can improve."

Karin clasped her hands. "That's a great idea!"

Turning to Kenma, she said, "I can't wait to see you play."

"Ehh?! You don't want to see _me_ play?" Kuroo asked.

Karin giggled. "I can't wait to see you play as well, Kuroo!"

Suddenly, the bell rang, telling the students that it's time for math class.

During class, Kuroo poked Kenma's ribs. "Kenma, I'm bored!" Kuroo whined.

"Do your work," Kenma replied.

"I want to see Karin play volleyball. Do you think she'll play good? She might even play in an adorable way~" Kuroo said with a smirk.

"Oh…"

"We'll see…"

"Yup. Only seven periods left."

"Only…"


	4. The Volleyball Club

Eventually, 7 periods passed and the students were allowed to either go home or go to club. Kenma, Kuroo, and Karin walked down the hall together. Karin tried to start a conversation.

"Have you guys played in any games against other schools?" Karin asked.

"Yup, and I defeated a lot of them!" Kuroo boasted.

"You didn't beat them; the team did," Kenma stated.

Kuroo placed his arm around Kenma's shoulder.

"This guy is one of the most valuable players, in which one of them is obviously me."

Karin couldn't help but laugh.

"You two really do seem like good friends," She said.

The three friends stopped in front of two big doors.

"Ah, we're here!" Karin exclaimed.

She opened the doors to the gymnasium and took a peek inside.

"Hmm… Not bad… I thought the gym would've been a bit bigger, though," Karin said.

"The gym where the nationals are held in is super big! That's where I'm aiming for!" Kuroo exclaimed.

Karin gave him a big smile and said, "I'll see you there, then!"

Before any of them can say anything, their coaches called them over.

The female coach was short and thin, but she had was obviously skilled. Meanwhile, the male coach was tall and well-built.

"You must be the new club member… Karin Fuyu, am I right?" The female coach said.

Karin nodded.

"That's me!~"

The female coach put her hand out.

"My name is Miss Notori. It's nice to meet you."

Karin shook her head and gave a big smile as the coach introduced her to the club members. Her smile wavered when she spotted someone she knew: Chiyo, the girl who tripped her in the cafeteria last time and the girl who had been glaring at her the whole time.

"Karin, would you like to be the spiker?" Miss Notori asked.

"I'm not really good at spiking, though," Karin said.

"Well, we are still deciding who does what the best. It's not official yet."

"In that case, sure, I'll try it!" Karin exclaimed.

Chiyo had her mouth open to complain. However, she soon shut her mouth and smirked. She was confident that Karin would never get on the official team.

Miss Notori set everyone up into a practicing formation that would improve their spikes and sets. When it was Karin's turn to spike, she ended up being paired up with Chiyo and nearly missed the ball. Unfortunately, the ball hit the net.

"You suck. Why are you even here?" Chiyo murmured.

Karin ignored her statement and exclaimed, "One more!"

Chiyo sighed and tossed the ball yet again for Karin. Karin hit the ball this time, and it went over the net. However, at the angle the ball went over, the opponent could've easily blocked the ball.

"One more!" Karin exclaimed.

Chiyo sighed. "Give up."

"Why don't we switch positions?" Karin asked. "You be the spiker and I'll be the setter."

"No way, I'm the official setter here. Coach Notori said so!"

Miss Notori overheard the conversation and took the idea into consideration.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Miss Notori said.

With that, Chiyo grumbled and switched places with Karin. Karin knew it was her time to shine. After all, setting is actually the only thing she could do in volleyball.

"Can you go behind me and spike from there?" Karin asked.

"The f- Why?"

"You'll see what I mean. Just spike."

Chiyo sneered. "You'll never make it into the team, but don't fret. I'm good at everything. I can replace."

"I'm going to toss," Karin said.

Chiyo awkwardly jumped into spiking position. Out of nowhere, the ball flew directly at her hands, so that the moment she spiked, the ball went perfectly over the net.

Miss Notori stared at the duo and tried to interpret what just happened.

"H-How did you send that toss?!" Chiyo asked.

"I aimed the ball towards you," Karin explained.

Miss Notori came over to Karin.

"You're a really good setter, Karin."

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry, Chiyo, but I think Karin would do a lot better than you as a setter."

"W-Wait, what?! Are you giving her _my_ role?"

Miss Notori nodded.

"THAT IS NOT FAIR!" Chiyo exclaimed.

Chiyo's loud voice echoed through the gym as everyone in the gym (including the boys) turned and stared at her. Miss Notori tried to calm Chiyo down.

"You want to be part of a strong team, don't you?"

"Y-Yes, but…!" Chiyo started.

"You'll be the spiker since you're really good at spiking."

"I demand a rematch!" Chiyo exclaimed.

"We didn't even have a match," Karin stated.

All of a sudden, the bell rang.

"Students, it's time to pack up and leave," Miss Notori instructed.

Karin gathered her belongings and stuffed them into her bag. Looks like she managed to make it into the team, after all.


	5. Lunch with Kuroo

**Kuroo put his arm around Kenma's shoulders. "Say, you ate lunch with Karin before, right?" Kuroo gave him a toothy grin.**

Kenma nodded.

"You'll let your best friend sit with you, right?"

Kenma nodded.

* * *

><p>In a blink of an eye, six periods passed by, and it was time for lunch. Karin, Kuroo, and Kenma walked together to find a seat in the cafeteria.<p>

"Karin, you're pretty good at volleyball." Kuroo tried to start a conversation.

Karin, surprised by the compliment, replied, "T-Thanks, you're a lot better than I'll ever be, though."

"Don't say that! I'm sure you would be a lot better than me if you had more practice."

"Ah… Thanks…"

"How about we go over to the park sometime and practice-" Kuroo was interrupted by a hungry cat-eyed boy.

"Are you going to eat that cake?" Kenma interrupted. His keen, cat-like eyes stared intensely at the slice of strawberry cake on Karin's plate.

"Ah, yes, I am! I love strawberry cake!" Karin smiled as she took a bite of the slice.

"Do you want some of my blueberry cake?" Kenma asked as he poked his slice with a fork.

"Don't mind if I do!~" Karin spooned out a piece of blueberry cake. "Uhh, I mean, thank you!" Karin smiled sheepishly for she has a bad habit of eating other people's food. Then, she turned back to Kuroo. "Ah, sorry, what were you saying?"

"Oh, nothing… Forget about it."

Before Kuroo could say anymore, the bell rang, and everyone was already going to their next class. Kuroo looked over at his friend Kenma and wondered why he interrupted him. Wasn't he supposed to support him? However, Kenma was busy trying to figure out the answer to his own question. He licked his lips and wondered why his blueberry cake tasted a lot better after Karin took a bite.


	6. Studying Together

It was a normal Monday morning. Kenma was on his phone, Kuroo was doing his homework at the last minute, and Karin was doodling in her journal. Shiro ran up to them to make her announcement.

"The exams are coming up in a week. Did any of you study?"

"Ah, I did, actually." Karin said.

Kuroo stood up, startled.

"Oh right, the exams are coming! Ah, what should I do? I'll definitely fail!" Kuroo exclaimed.

Kenma looked up at him with his keen, cat-like eyes. "I have a really good advice."

Kuroo leaned forward in anticipation.

"Try studying," Kenma said.

"Eh?! I don't have time for that. That I'm a busy person!" Kuroo exclaimed.

"What makes you so busy?"

"I play volleyball. My fabulous volleyball skills didn't just magically appear, you know." Kuroo flipped his hair and grinned.

"Right…" Kenma turned back to his phone.

"Kuroo, want to come over to my place to study?" Karin asked.

"What?! Umm…" Kuroo blushed, but he couldn't hide his goofy grin.

"He would love to go," Kenma stated.

He didn't bother looking up from his phone.

"Y-Yeah, I don't mind," Kuroo stammered.

"Oh, thank goodness~ I was worried you would decline." Karin let out a sigh of relief.

"Why…?" Kuroo asked.

He couldn't help but be a bit curious.

"Well, I actually wanted to spend some time with you during the weekend. Not to mention that I really should study for this exam," Karin stated.

"Why me, though?" Kuroo asked.

"Well, you're one of my few friends, and you kinda need the help…"

Kenma glanced up at Karin and Kuroo. After a few seconds, he turned back to his phone.

"Where's your house?"

"961 Strawbury Street," Karin stated.

Kuroo wrote down the address on a slip of paper.

"I'll also give you my number, just in case you get lost. It's 347-101-5555."

Kenma glanced up from his phone with a look in his eye, a look that probably meant that he was surprised that his friend managed to acquire such information. Then, right when he was about to turn back to his phone, Karin caught his eye.

"Kenma, do you want to tag along?" Karin asked.

Kenma looked up at Kuroo. Kuroo shrugged.

"Sure, I'll come."

With that, the three kids merrily went through class and started planning their weekend together. Kenma wondered what games he should bring, Karin wondered what subject they should work on first, and Kuroo wondered what food he should bring. Little did they know, their school day had passed already. Let the weekend begin!


End file.
